Nice find! Not your usual TED talk, which tend to fall into the strange attractor of eco-hipster douchery and unicorn-flavored twaddle; not to say there are no pearls amongst the swine.

The audience reaction shots were interesting. More scowls than the usual gleeful delight most TED talks invoke. I put it down to the congnitive from hearing someone from a despised culture stand before them and make sense.

#6
If the day ever comes when I should have to fire a gun
Well, it won't be done for money and it won't be done for fun.
Though I pray each day that such a thing should never come to pass
If you tamper with me liberties then, buddy, it's your ass.

For a gun is just an instrument like any other tool
And to be afraid to use it is to be a bloody fool.
So before you come to visit me remember where I'm from
For I'll help you get to Heaven if that day should come.

h/t Gates of Vienna
The "grand bargain" that has been the basis of the American economic system since 1913 is entering its end-game phase. What will replace the expiring order is unknown, but there are two substantially different substitutes that could emerge over the medium term. One is a return to the free market that existed before the institution of the progressive income tax and the Federal Reserve in 1913. This isn't likely, given the weakness and inability of so-called conservative "leaders" to communicate ideas effectively. The other is a form of financial repression resulting in the kind of fascistic state seen in Venezuela. This is the more likely scenario, given President Obama's mesmeric hold over the mainstream media, government employee unions and the burgeoning recipient class.

In an impassioned 80 seconds, MEP Daniel Hannan exposes the structurally rotten "syphilitic core" of a European Union whose existential crisis has now seemingly been pronounced 'over' by those wondrous self-denying members of the European elite. "There is an extraordinary denial going on," the eloquent Englishman expounds as he notes that they still "haven't addressed the fundamental problem," of 'applying a single monetary policy to countries with widely divergent conditions and means' leaving unemployment rising and growth stagnating. He notes that the crisis in one respect is over, the moment of decision of taking one of two paths, is indeed over - and "the squaller, the wretchedness, the unemployment and poverty have now become structural."

h/t Gates of Vienna
Chuck Hagel hates Jews. Or should I say, he hates Jews who think that Jews have rights and that their rights should be defended, in Israel by the government and the IDF, in America by Israels supporters.

As I mentioned before, it is not at all surprising that Obama appointed Hagel, and I see little chance that the Senate will reject his appointment. Israel and its American friends, however, can take heart that Israel will not be Hagels chief concern.

Hageland Obamahave bigger fish to fry than Israel. They are looking to take on the US military. They will slash military budgets, they will slash pensions and medical benefits for veterans in order to save a couple dollars and demoralize the military. They will unilaterally disarm the US to the point where Americas antiquated nuclear arsenal will become a complete joke. And I dont see the military capable of stopping it. Anyone remember the F-22?

...this doesnt contradict my point about Israel not being the problem with Hagel. He is an anti-Semite. And for American Jewish groups to remain silent about his appointment is worse than irresponsible. It is treacherous. My point about Hagel being anti-American is that the groups that should be leading the campaign against him are the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars not AIPAC and the ADL, not that AIPAC and the ADL should be silent.

#1
The Fedcritters are just shooting themselves in the foot by trying to take away America's guns while simultaneously not doing anything serious to seal the border + other in order to "justify" the ever-expanding Big Govt. + Welfare-Nanny State.

BY LAW, AFAIK THE FED IS SUPPOSED TO KEEPING DEFICIT SPENDING TO 6% OF US GDP - but-t-t, in the "new Math", 6% = 37% of GDP + still climbing, + THEY HAVE THE PERTS = SCIENCE TO PROVE IT.

EITHER STUPID OR CORRUPT, + DEY AIN'T STUPID.

Intentional expansion of US Debt = GOOD FOR NATIONAL, GLOBAL WELFARE-NANY STATE + OWG + NAU; WAR AGZ IRAN + ESPEC CHINA = GOOD FOR ANTI-US OWG + NAU WHERE THE US IS NO LONGER A GLOBAL SUPERPOWER OR HYPER-POWER + HAS DEVOL INTO AN "ALSO RAN", I.E. A MERE TRAN-REGIONAL, WORLD OR "GREAT POWER" SUB-I.E. NOT A GLOBAL OR NAU "SOLE" LEADER ANYMORE.

Unless the GOP-Right can field a strong unifying Conservative or mostly Conservative Personage-Figurehead to be POTUS in 2017 [2016 Elex], THE DEMOLEFT + ANTI-US GLOBALISTS WILL CONTROL THE "LEFTIST-GLOBALIST", ANTI-NATIONALIST ANTI-SOVEREIGN WEAK US GOVT. = AMERIKKA + ITS "GLOBALIST" CONSTITUTION [SOviet State Charter] FOR MANY MANY YEARS. IT W-I-L-L TAKE A CIVIL WAR OR WORLD WAR TO RESTORE AMERICA TO ITS FORMER GLORY + POSITION.

will frame the debate in the other direction. Democrats are irresponsible, and the Republicans already raised taxes and revenue, now this is your turn to address spending. If you refuse to address spending in the next month where you have had 5 years to cut spending and have refused then you are the irresponsible party, dead wrong on this issue, and you are the bad guys.

Winning Elections has nothing to do with Leading a Country

I don`t care if you won the election with a 100% mandate, I am sure the Greek politicians won all their damn elections as well. So stop spouting this campaign rhetoric as it is irrelevant to the spending problem at hand. We don`t have a tax problem, we have a spending problem. We never have a problem raising taxes in this country, but we sure have a problem cutting wasteful spending.

Personally, I doubt that the country`s spending issues and debt constraints that will hit home 5 years down the line were really on the voter`s minds while casting votes in the recent election. It is never on voter`s minds until you get Greece style austerity programs, then it really becomes on their minds, and guess what the Greek citizens still didn`t want to cut spending even when their country was in default.

#3
Some kind of major or catastrophic event(s) or disaster(s) will likely have to take place before the Sheeple can wake up. IMO THE POLITICOS ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT MORE BUDGET-N-DEBT-CEILING BUSTING "QE'S". "STIMULUS", + "FISCAL CLIFFS" BECAUSE IT ONLY MEANS TO JUST RAISE THE LEGAL LIMITS AGAIN AND AGAIN AND ....

This where possible US war wid CHINA + IRAN, OR OTHER? IN 2013, COMES IN AS THESE CAN MAKE-OR-BREAK THE BAMMER'S LEGACY, DESTROY AMERICA'S CREDIBILITY + POSITION AS THE WORLD'S SOLE GLOBAL SUPERPOWER, + DESTROY ANY CHANCE OF POTENT US LEADERSHIP IN THE FUTURE OWG + OWG NAU + INTERIM.

As said or inferred times before, "post-US" WOrld #1 wannabe CHINA wants "sole" PLA MilBases + guaranteed, unopposed or unchallenged
"strategic access" into WESTPAC + FAR PACIFIC, INDIAN OCEAN vee the "First Island Chain", + ISN'T TAKING "NO" FOR AN ANSWER. CHINA WANTS PLA MILBASES + CONTROL OF TAIWAN WHERE IT HAS HINGED THE FINAL OR DE FACTO SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF ITS ANTI-US "MANIFEST DESTINY" AS FUTURE WORLD #1.

IMO China is willing + ready to wage war, Conventional as well as Nuclear, in the East China Sea + South China Sea + Himalayan Plateau to achieve its "Manifest Destiny" - iff it does not get its claimed sovereignty oer various disputed islands + maritime regions, IT WILL ONE DAY JUST SUDDENLY SHOCKING JUST START SHOOTING.

As for IRAN, its budding nuclear arsenal can make a US or US-led Coalition ground invasion VERY BLOODY = CASUALTY-INTENSIVE/PROHIBITIVE, HENCE DOMESTICALLY + GEOPOL POLITICALLY DIFFICULT IFF NOT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE BAMMER + ADMIN.

"IRAN" also read - [Nuclear?]RADICAL ISLAM + MUSLIM WORLD.

Iff the powers that be expect the US to overtly or covertly REMAIN the dominant Power in the future OWG + OWG NAU, TO BE SEEN AS SUCCESSFUL THE BAMMER ADMIN MUST GET CHINA TO [peacefully?]CONCEDE IN THE EAST CHINA SEA + SOUTH CHINA SEA, ETC. I.E. NOT ALLOW CHINA TO VIOLATE OR BREAK THE "STATUS QUO" AS PER THESE EAST ASIAN REGIONS.

The upsets + chaos wrought by the Bammer + Admin is consistent wid efforts to impose OWG + NAU on Americans vee USING THE INTENTIONAL OR DELIBERATE PROPAGATION OF CHAOS/ANARCHIES TO FORCE THE US, MEXICO, CANADA, + GREENLAND TO BE MUTUALLY INTERDEPENDENT FOR SIMPLE SURVIVAL.

US WAR AGZ NUKE-ARMED CHINA + NUKE-WANNABE/NEAR-NUKE IRAN, HOWEVER, MAY DECIDE IFF THE US IS TO BE THE DE FACTO LEADER, OVERT OR COVERT, OF SAIDSAME OWG + OWG NAU, ETC.

Lest we fergit, 1990's + Pre, Post 9-11 NET > CHINA + ISLAM HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE EXCEPT THE MILYUHNS + DILYUHNS OF PEOPLE THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE CARE OF ANYWAY.

[Dawn] THE news today may bring you to the edge of your seat, but apathy to the violence that endures may soon take over, given the general societal attitude.

At an individual level, it may not be too difficult to fashion ourselves into advocates for what we believe in, whether it's condemning the slaughter of Balochistan...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...'s Hazaras or speaking in support of women victims of crime. We could use social media to rally support or contribute in other ways towards bringing change; but rarely has civic action, without the requisite numbers or the sustained action, resulted in reforming the socio-political landscape.

So back to the news of the day: a series of bombings across Pakistain have killed some 120 people -- journalists, a human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... activist whose Twitter profile reads 'My religion is respect', civilians, Frontier Corps personnel, women, children, members of the Hazara community.

Last year was the bloodiest for Pakistain's Shia population, Human Rights Watch... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... reports, reminding of the callousness and apathy of law-enforcement authorities that have failed to take action against rising sectarian violence. Many question the failure of the state to provide security to communities living in fear and the answer isn't hard to come by.

More disturbing is political inaction when it comes to investigation and prosecutions. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says that "more than 400 Shia have been killed in the past year. The violence was tragic and predictable. The government must take action to protect all its citizens". Tolerating violence threatens stability, when the institutions of democracy -- parliament, the judiciary, media -- remain passive towards corruption, sectarianism and extremism.

If the government has failed to act, why has civil society failed to raise its voice? One could argue that civil society has been restricted and controlled, and has been unable to develop into a concerted national movement that feeds off activism and the will to fight injustice. This could be because activism is an elite preoccupation in many underdeveloped countries. When starving, unemployed and worried about the safety of their family, civil society is unable to protest or chant slogans or coin radical tweets.

The effort at best has been sporadic. For instance, in 2011, the Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...-based Citizens for Democracy, a coalition of 80 civil bodies, ran a campaign when in a single day it obtained 150,000 petitions demanding an end to violence and protection for minorities. Little followed that effort.

The paucity of groups with common agendas -- or the inability of these groups to come together -- along with an elitist, exclusive model with individual projection as the key driving force, and limited financial resources -- keep civil movements, which should be the nucleus of any democracy, at bay.

Activism here is not broad-based or effective. This is unlike India's vibrant civil society where even moderate voices have demanded and won rights for squatters, labourers, women and low-caste communities. Here civil society briefly united during the 2007 lawyers movement, assisted by the free media but again with negligible staying power.

Historically, the failure of getting diverse groups to converge on one platform is attributed to differing ideologies and missing national will. Social movements liberate to provide opportunities; something that hasn't happened for Pakistain. The legacy of the Soviet-Afghan war eroded liberal platforms; uneasy political alliances and military interventions proved detrimental to pro-resistance movements. Periods of military rule gave rise to fragmented movements led by leftists, communists, progressive writers. Resistance was crushed by the state, although some underground movements based on political ideologies managed to sustain themselves.

Conversely, the language movement in East Pakistain lent Bengali identity its impetus and became a forerunner to the nationalist movement, and subsequently the 1971 war and independence for the country's eastern wing.

Here, in the 1980s, when the women's movement emerged with the formation of the Women's Action Forum, civil society was propelled into action by Zia's draconian Hudood laws. Women's rights were not a government priority, and unfortunately regressive societal attitudes overall did not help the cause of the handful who lobbied for change. It was much later that women parliamentarians would win popular attention, spearheading pro-women bills despite religious opposition.

For civil society to extend beyond pockets of protest groups to more advocacy-based initiatives that are funded and long-term, act as a watchdog over the government and participate in policy creation (through awareness campaigns, research, community activation), a more cohesive national movement is needed. Paks must take ownership of their issues. This is a challenge indeed given the large percentage of people living below the poverty line in a country that is at a crossroads, and that stands divided in its fight against extremism.

What is also disturbing are the varied differences that civil society shows to matters that, as human rights violations, should prompt strong, collective action. In May 2012, an amateur video emerged from a conservative district of Kohistan...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... of four women singing and clapping and a couple of men dancing. We don't know if the women are alive or have been shot after a tribal jirga condemned the participants to death for their celebratory disposition. Civil rights groups haven't protested on a larger scale for justice for these men and women. But when in October, a schoolgirl from Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...was shot and injured by the Taliban, the attack forced condemnation from politicians and activists, with global shock at this brutal assault.

It seems that traditional practices and beliefs suffice as justification for crimes committed and for uneducated, poor victims being incarcerated or murdered for committing blasphemy. Those who have shown solidarity against religious bigotry and violence have been murdered. Real civil activism will become a high-risk strategy when it comes to the final push for saving democracy.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.